Local Weather Forecast
from the
National Observatory
of Athens
www.meteo.gr
The one the fishermen
rely on!
 

Money, Food, Books,Weather & Easter
(the important stuff)

Money

At the last count (February 2011) there was one bank and
 five ATMs in Molivos, all clustered at the entrance to the village near
the Information Office on the road leading towards the harbour,
apart from one ATM at the Post Office in the Agora,
and one belonging to Alphabank at Best Car Hire at the start of the village.

In Petra there is an ATM kiosk next to the OTE on the sea-front,
plus three conventional ATMs, one at the Hotel Ilion, also on the sea-front
not far from the bus stop in the direction of Molivos,
a second is in the one bank (The Co-Operative Bank of Lesvos-Limnos)
on the corner of the war-memorial square between
the bus stop and the main sea-front square,
and  a third at the farmers' co-op on the one-way system
at the Molivos end of the village.
   (The ATMs take Maestro and Cirrus cards, as well as credit cards.)

 Nirvana Travel, towards the Anaxos end of the sea-front,
 operates a bureau de change service.

The post offices in both villages will also change money and travellers' cheques.

Food & Drink

In both Molivos and Petra you will be spoilt for choice,
with restaurants and tavernas spread through the town
(though for fresh fish in Molivos head towards the harbour -
 time it right and your meal may come straight from the boat to the grill).

In Anaxos most of the tavernas are spread along the back
 of the beach facing the sea.

No recommendations or star ratings here
(I have too many friends to lose), but you will be unlucky if you find a bad meal.
       

Most dishes are basically Greek: while menus tend to be organised
 into courses to suit the northern European taste, most places will be pleased to serve a selection of meze if you prefer to eat Greek-style.
(If you really insist, it is possible to find an all-day English breakfast in Petra
complete with Guinness and wide-screen TV football ).

Tourism, the microwave, and government regulation have made
the barely warm meals of legend almost extinct.
(though many Greeks will still insist that hot food is bad for the digestion)
Similarly almost all tavernas now work from a printed menu:
 if you wish to see your food before ordering the choices will be laid out
in chilled displays rather than the simmering pans of a few years ago.

Books & Maps

Guidebooks

There are large sections on Lesvos in Lonely Planet,
the Rough Guide to the Dodecanese & East Aegean,
Thomas Cook's Greek Island Hopping,
and all the many other general English guides to Greece or the Greek Islands,
but most English-language guides devoted to the island
come from several specialist Greek publishers, all well-illustrated,
comprehensive and almost indistinguishable from one another.
They are available everywhere in Lesvos;
 in the UK Hellenic Bookservice (www.hellenicbookservice.com)
lists at least one of them.  

An exception is 'Landmark Visitors' Guide to Lesvos',
published in March 2004.
It can be ordered from www.amazon.co.uk
 

However for now the best guide to the island is 'Lesbos'
by Thomas Schröder, unfortunately published only in German.
Get it from www.amazon.de,
or from Rodi (Ρόδι) bookshop in Petra.

Maps

There are many maps of the island on sale in Lesvos:
the best is:- 'Lesbos'
published by ROAD Editions of Athens (Sheet 212; 1:70,000)
It is based on Greek Army surveys, and regularly updated.
It is distributed in the UK by Portfolio and is available from
www.amazon.co.uk or through any bookshop.
(NB. ROAD Editions seems to be no longer trading,
but the latest edition of the map is still widely available)

Other Books

'Aeolian Lesbos' by Lisa Evert (Constellation Books, Athens,
 published in the UK by Millbank Books)
A coffee-table book of Lisa Evert's
gorgeous photographs of Lesvos,
introduced with historical essays by the directors of
the government departments of archaeology for Lesvos.

'The Greek-o-File' edited with contributions
by Sylvia & Terry Cook.
 (www.greekofile.co.uk)
An annual collection of articles etc. on Greece, Greek life, holidaying, working, and settling in Greece.
 The editors have a home in Polichnitos
and often include features on Lesvos.

 These are both available from bookshops and www.amazon.co.uk

A British photographer, Robin Sanders,
has produced a new calendar for 2012 featuring his pictures of Lesvos.
It will be available in English and Dutch from
www.lesvoscalendars.eu

  English Books

Imported books are expensive in Greece, because of distribution arrangements
and taxation (unlike the UK, books are subject to ΦΠΑ, the local equivalent of VAT),
 so if you like reading on holiday, it is best to bring your books with you.
  Imported books are available in shops that sell foreign newspapers. 
English translations of modern Greek classics are published, at more reasonable price,
 by Kedros and Efstathiadis
(the latter also issue reprints of titles by English authors on Greek subjects).
They are available from Rodi (Ρόδι) in Petra,
and from Panagiottis Karakatzanis' bookshop in Molivos.
 (To find either of these shops, carry on uphill from the respective post offices:
 in Petra Rodi is on the left under the church on the rock (Panagia Glykofilousa),
 in Molivos just off to the right at the next crossing)

    Weather

If you want to explore Lesvos it is best
to visit in May, June or September.
 The sun is usually reliable, and it is
pleasantly warm rather than suffocatingly hot.
Climate change has come to the Greek islands:
 in the last few years mid-summer temperatures
 have reached 40°C,
while springs have become later and wetter,
and autumn storms more violent.
 And in the winter it now often snows heavily.

Molivos, Petra, and Anaxos face west
and north-west and are backed
 by a 970m' mountain range,
so often have their own weather system,
which may be completely different
from what is going on at the nearest weather station at
Mitilini Airport, which faces east fifty km away to the south-east as the crow flies.
 Therefore the charts and forecasts here are only indications
of what might be happening in the north of the island.
For an up-to-date island forecast click here
or for a local forecast for Molivos click here.
(this is based on Mitilini data, but with allowances for local conditions)

Easter is the main festival of the Greek year,
and is a favourite time for visits,
 the opportunity to share in the celebrations
usually combining with ideal spring weather
for a memorable experience.
The Orthodox calendar varies from the
 "Western" Roman Catholic and Protestant one,
 resulting in different Easter dates in most years.
 Time it right and the family
may get two lots of eggs.